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Remaking

Do you have those moments when some life situation allows you to suddenly and clearly understand some other matter you’ve been struggling with? I do.

The moment came last night as I was carefully taking apart a book.

Every one of us has the potential to be remade. Though the pages may be stained with spilled beverages or grape jelly, though several different people may have written their names and ideas on the insides, though the spine may be broken and loose, though we have images and ideas bound onto us, and though we find ourselves on a thrift shop shelf for fractions of our worth, we can be remade.

We can be recreated.

That is good news, folks.

Are there any areas of your life you want to remake into something else? Your health? Your relationships? Your habits?

June is a terrible month for me. It always has been. Maybe it always will be. But today, I find myself determined to at least try…to take it apart and make it something new. So my first attempt is to acknowledge something good about June (just like I acknowledge that a broken, beat up, dirty book has a firm cover that can be used for my journals):

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10 thoughts on “Remaking”

How I love your topics… guaranteed to make for self-examination… and this is a good thing. Wholeheartedly agree with your “remaking” idea… one of my favorite sayings is “I wake up in a new world everyday”…. which means, not only can I NOT remember what the hell I did yesterday (ha), it’s also a “remaking” or sorts…. No grudges carried over, no unforgiveness traces, a fresh new start. I don’t know how this occurs… but it does and I’m grateful for it. Now, yes, there are sometimes big “troubles” one has to slime through. I’m willing to do the work of love, is possible, and if not possible in all respects, at least I’m willing to clean up my side of the street in terms of right action, kept promises, asking forgiveness, forgiving others, etc.

Just this morning, I felt really quite physically frail, and not on top of my game. I started to speak this to those I met, and caught myself… instead I chose to ask them how their day was going, how was their family, how was school, etc. It’s not necessarily a game, but in part, a re-creation of things. I really don’t want to do “illness” talk, and seldom am tempted to, because I’m always blessed with abundant health! It’s a choice… I think to choose where that foot goes down, where you step, what you say, what you create, how you intereact with the world. Contratulations on finishing your novel! That’s a huge accomplishment…. and it happened in June too! Bravo!

You are absolutely right: every day holds the promise to be free from yesterday. Isn’t it amazing how easily we stumble into old wounds, old habits, old troubles? We have the opportunity, though, to choose life–to speak life, to encourage life, to pursue life.

I love what it says in Lamentations 3: “[the Lord’s] compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Wow! Not only do we have the opportunity to choose each day what kind of people we are going to be, but we have a God whose mercies are new every morning. How convenient is that? :)

Thanks for the words, Veev! It’s always a delight. :) And thanks for the words regarding my novel; I’m fairly pleased with the accomplishment, even though there is *much* editing to be done!

Hiya Sarahmoo, and double you bee!
Congrats on the novel, and best wishes with the edits.
As to the ‘remaking’ topic -my take beign a counterpoint- I have a saying that came to me as a ‘brother’ was lamenting his mistake, and how he wished he had done something different…..out of the blue, I said ‘Charlie, it’s true that hindsight is 20/20, but if you keep looking out your butt, EVERYTHING will look crappy’, and then, immediately, the scripture Luke 9:62 came to me (No man that has put his hand to the plow, and looks back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven).
This is not intended to deter reflection, and improvement, but rather, to push forward the ‘keep the eye on the prize’ thought pattern.
Now, that I have introduced counterpoint…..there are several areas in MY life that I would love to remake/redo (scene 4, take 37 anyone?). I wish I had taken motorcycling more seriously earlier on. I wish I had developed a more compassionate spirit at, say, age 23. I really, really wish I had developed an understanding of women at any point in my early life. I would love to say I have lived my life with no regrets, but, alas….

If I may share a poem…

‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’ Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Anyway, I think the issue isn’t so much regrets, but recognizing that yesterday (and its regrets) are gone. Every morning, we have the chance to begin again. For instance, just because you didn’t learn compassion earlier in your life, it shouldn’t keep you from choosing to be compassionate today.

No, it’s not about looking back; it’s about believing that God is doing a new thing.

That is great news! I hope that you will be able to not only get it published, but also get it on the shelves of Amazon, Borders, and some place that starts with the letter “c” (How quickly have I run out of ideas.) Of course, if it’s the right material, maybe Zondervan. (I’ll try to fill in the rest of the alphabet later.) ;-)

…yes, there are areas in my life that I have made over, as well as areas that I’m working like crazy to reinvent.

I did remake my health to some degree. I HATE taking medications because they all, ALL I tell you, have side effects, so I’ve changed the way I eat, and I’ve become a mover instead of a sit-arounder. I love the food I eat and I love being active. Who would’ve guessed?

At work, I’ve had a year and a half that is certified to have been manufactured in hell. I guess I could pause and indulge in woe-is-me-ism, but instead I decided to tackle this thing head on. I pictured what a successful person in my position would do, say, and look like, and I’m working on bringing my actions, words, and physicality into conformity with that picture. Time will tell if this procedure works, but at least I’m moving…

Redemption is the great, good news; sins are forgiven, regrets become opportunities for new starts and for growth, and mourning is turned into joy.

Your words about redemption are so well-spoken, Michelle. “And mourning is turned into joy.” Thank the Lord!

I’m sorry to hear about your year at work. But I am glad you are doing something proactive about it. In the end, even if it falls apart, you will at least know that you did everything in your power to make it work. I am proud of you!